Regards April 30th 888 Dream Team Final S1 !0k Final

[bennymacca]

thinking about it, i reckon something like the "weekly turbo" and "sunday briefing" articles on pokernews would be great for 888pl.

for those that dont know, they basically give a roundup of the relevant poker news for the week, and on sunday they just give the final table placings for the major events.

these articles wouldn't have to be that long and could be whipped up in a couple of hours i think. it could also link to the rest of the news stories that are relevant to that week, like the details of the next grand final, or semi final winners etc. it could also then give a quick one or two sentence progress report on the top 5 of the state leaderboards and the dream team leaderboard.


in effect it is kind of what glynn has been doing with his fortnightly article (which seems to have fallen by the wayside a bit, although im sure there are good reasons for that)

what do people think about that?

[Garth Kay]

thinking about it, i reckon something like the "weekly turbo" and "sunday briefing" articles on pokernews would be great for 888pl.

for those that dont know, they basically give a roundup of the relevant poker news for the week, and on sunday they just give the final table placings for the major events.

these articles wouldn't have to be that long and could be whipped up in a couple of hours i think. it could also link to the rest of the news stories that are relevant to that week, like the details of the next grand final, or semi final winners etc. it could also then give a quick one or two sentence progress report on the top 5 of the state leaderboards and the dream team leaderboard.


in effect it is kind of what glynn has been doing with his fortnightly article (which seems to have fallen by the wayside a bit, although im sure there are good reasons for that)

what do people think about that?

If you wish to volunteer your time and start this up we are more than prepared to circulate it for you.

You seem to act like we have an abundance of time up our sleeves and sit back with our feet up . I am currently pushing 80 hour weeks and haven't had a complete weekend off in over six weeks, even Easter was spent working for at least a few hours per day.

If you forego prize pools or allow us to at least halve them then we could hire someone who can concentrate full time on marketing and player communications, but then you just alienate almost all of the players who are interested in continuous and frequent communications by removing the prize pools.

It's not like we haven't thought of these things or that we don't want to implement them, it's just that other aspects of this league are given higher priorities.

Also in regards to the Dream Team news and updates, have you visited the website and checked out the DT tabs? And although you may feel that interest in this has declined I can assure you it has not. In fact we bucked trends by increasing our large volume players by 2.2% last season. The fact you feel that it isn't commented on or felt as a chaser element is because 90% of the players that frequent here are from SA and of that 90% almost 80% of them no longer play as "regular" players within the league.

You also do need to note that this forum is no longer used as frequently, by players and staff alike, as it was in times past. With the increase in social networks the need for this tool has declined, but the workload and comms through our support desk has increased by almost 600% on figures from 2009. Our players have found other avenues to communicate and offer feedback and voice their opinions.

[Garth Kay]

In closing, this forum and the regular posters, no longer really equates to the general 888PL player. It didn't really before as most players here are seeking a poker product whilst we continue to offer, in the majority, an entertainment product.

This is not intended as insult or anything defamatory but just a statement of fact.
The network has grown substantially from the days of NPL in VIC/SA and TAS and as such our communication tools become more specific and diversified.

We haven't even scratched the surface of our social media/networking marketing campaigns.

[David]

I don't think benny the cunt was acting like he thinks you have an abundance of time up your sleeves and sit back with your feet up.

It's just an idea, that's all.

[Garth Kay]

these articles wouldn't have to be that long and could be whipped up in a couple of hours i think. it could also link to the rest of the news stories that are relevant to that week, like the details of the next grand final, or semi final winners etc. it could also then give a quick one or two sentence progress report on the top 5 of the state leaderboards and the dream team leaderboard.

This was what came across as making light of our workload.

No player comms (especially of a network wide variety) can be completed within a two hour time frame, there are just too many stakeholders to be consulted before publication or distribution.

[David]

Ok.

[Garth Kay]

FYI -

I am not insulted or angry at all. Dave has bought it to my attention that my posts are leaving that impression. In now way am I insulted or angry at all, rather I wrote those posts rather lightheartedly and happy.

It's great to see ideas floated like this and I am quite happy to hear them and roll with them but sometimes they may be unrealistic or simply not achievable and I will be the first to tell you that as I don't wish to hold out hope.

[bennymacca]

You seem to act like we have an abundance of time up our sleeves and sit back with our feet up. I am currently pushing 80 hour weeks and haven't had a complete weekend off in over six weeks, even Easter was spent working for at least a few hours per day.

This was what came across as making light of our workload.

No player comms (especially of a network wide variety) can be completed within a two hour time frame, there are just too many stakeholders to be consulted before publication or distribution.

apologies garth, the "whipped up in a couple of hours" comment was flippant and i didn't mean to insinuate that you guys sit around doing nothing. i was more trying to get across that i think regular, short, updates are great for keeping people informed.

It's not like we haven't thought of these things or that we don't want to implement them, it's just that other aspects of this league are given higher priorities.

completely fair enough - you obviously know more about what you are doing than what i ever will, i just thought i would offer my (sometimes not so) humble opinion.

Also in regards to the Dream Team news and updates, have you visited the website and checked out the DT tabs?

i must admit i hadn't in a while. the meet the dream team article is great, i think this should be highlighted a lot more. for those are interested, here it is.
http://www.888pl.com.au/Documents.asp?I ... +Dreamteam

The fact you feel that it isn't commented on or felt as a chaser element is because 90% of the players that frequent here are from SA and of that 90% almost 80% of them no longer play as "regular" players within the league.

probably a fair point.

You also do need to note that this forum is no longer used as frequently, by players and staff alike, as it was in times past. With the increase in social networks the need for this tool has declined, but the workload and comms through our support desk has increased by almost 600% on figures from 2009. Our players have found other avenues to communicate and offer feedback and voice their opinions.

any reason for the decline? is it because facebook can reach a wider audience quicker?

i think both facebook and forums have their advantages - maybe in recent times we have become a bit insular on the forum especially, as you say, the percentage of us actually playing regularly has dropped off.

In closing, this forum and the regular posters, no longer really equates to the general 888PL player. It didn't really before as most players here are seeking a poker product whilst we continue to offer, in the majority, an entertainment product.

this is very true.



so i guess i will ask the big question - are we redundant as a forum in terms of the usefulness to the 888pl. have we, as regular forumers, missed the boat and is facebook where its at?

[bennymacca]

FYI -

I am not insulted or angry at all. Dave has bought it to my attention that my posts are leaving that impression. In now way am I insulted or angry at all, rather I wrote those posts rather lightheartedly and happy.

It's great to see ideas floated like this and I am quite happy to hear them and roll with them but sometimes they may be unrealistic or simply not achievable and I will be the first to tell you that as I don't wish to hold out hope.

i didn't take any offence or think you were angry garth so its all cool. in fact i kind of expected that reply, because it would take quite a bit of effort.

but sometimes i get sidetracked at work and my mind runs amok and i just thought that in an ideal world where we all have 1 million chinese sweatshop labourers at our beck and call to do what we want, it would be cool to have something like this.

[Garth Kay]

any reason for the decline? is it because facebook can reach a wider audience quicker?

so i guess i will ask the big question - are we redundant as a forum in terms of the usefulness to the 888pl. have we, as regular forumers, missed the boat and is facebook where its at?

First of all, I really didn't take umbrage to anything you said benny the cunt. In fact it's great to see you involved in 888PL ideas again and throwing around concepts and ideas. The two hour time frame to build a comms piece is completely unreasonable though. I thank you for the ideas and I need to be sure to add smilies when I'm being tongue in cheek or snide!

Now on to your questions. I would disagree with you in regards to the term "decline"; I love this forum and it is one of the best communication tools we have, in 888PL's instance it has been under utilised and not promoted as strongly as we should. The frequency of posting and attendance has decreased across the regular poster front; this is mainly due to the fact that we have improved our communications and feedback techniques/comms to the point where players do not require the forum to voice their opinions or feedback as often as previously. Also the decline in strat/educational pieces as well as my regular questions thread has seen a dramatic reduction in players required to post (Quite often, for days on end, there will be very little new 888PL or poker related content).

As above though the increase use of FB tools (which can be drilled down to state/regional direct comms) and the speed of dispersal of information has improved our comms channels, and feedback can be received in real time as well.

To your final question -this forum is not redundant nor will it ever be. The content is meatier and the feedback appreciated but the people who post here (currently) are not representative of our regular player or our market focus next financial year. We will be moving forward with APL integration at some stage and look to build the forum into our player experiences. I will be looking to create forum promotions and forum only events to drive consistent participation and hopefully grow this forum especially with novice/new players.

If you want real time information then FB is the place to be, if you want to offer feedback and truly discuss 888PL ideas/promo's etc. then the place to be is here!